Pho Ra'Tet

East of the nation of Naya Aadesh is the Brahamu Channel, a river expanding into the ocean and isolating a sliver of peninsula upon which resides the beginnings of the Pho'Ra'Tet archipelago known as the Midnight Isles. The island chain extends farther east into the Ocean of Tears, and it is this chain of volcanoes and sandbars that are home to the mighty Pho Ra'Tet people. Expert seafarers, the Pho possesses none of the superstition of the Nayan's regarding the ocean, and even the humblest Pho is comfortable adrift in a long boat at sea.

Most of a Pho's life is spent at sea, fishing and dredging the ocean for it's bounty. They have adapted to a life of constant sailing and are easily the most adept sailors in the known world. As a result of their constant exploration and fearless nature, the Pho have acummulated vast stores of exotic plants, animals, spices and other treasures unheard of to the land locked "Ma'Ta'Vale" (the Pho phrase for foreigners, but more specifically for "poor sailors," often abreviated as "Mata"). While many "Mata" find the Pho's cultural practices distasteful, the Pho's wealth of high end trade goods is often enough to make them ignore their cultural idiosyncracies. As a result, the Pho have aquired a reputation as savvy traders, and many clans have established trade understandings with the neighboring Nayan's and Tai Yang.

As a nation, Pho'Ra'Tet is largely divided within itself, and while the tribes share a great deal of cultural and religious practices, there is a constant struggle for supremacy between the Great Clans. Each of the Clans is a despotism, with each Phu'Ma'Lo (Chieftain) ruling either by hereditary inheritance or by appointment for life, ending when he is deposed by a stronger ruler or if he relinquishes his position. Each of the Great Clans devours in the name of a Ma'Lo (one their gods), whose power they seek to emulate. To this end, it is common for a great leader or tribal figure to be consumed by the tribe at his funeral, so that all of the power he has accumulated is not lost with his passing. To the Pho, this is the highest honor and contributes to their fearless nature, knowing that they will forever live as part of the tribes accumulated power.

Aside from their gruesome practices, the Pho are tight knit and share a very warm sense of community. Resources are pooled and shared and the entire tribe will gather together often to hold huge feasts in their lodges nightly. Understandably, the emphasis they place on food has created a very developed culinary culture, and they boast some of the finest cuisine seen in all the lands. The only position regarded more highly than a clan's chef is it's navigator, who is responsible for learning and passing on the knowledge of the clan's fishing lanes and charted islands. Warriors form the most numerous of the Pho, with only a very small fraction of Pho being non-combatants. Even children are taught from a young age the basics of poison and trap making, allowing them to take down prey much larger than themselves (but not a lot of enemies are larger than a Pho). These skills only become more potent as they grow, with every Pho knowing basic booby trap construction. When the tribes take to the ocean for several days, they will often leave their settlements empty, save for a plethora of deadly traps set to foil anyone that would be dishonest enough to attempt to steal something. Many are the foolhardy who have met their end attempting to rob these ghost harbors, only to have their rotten corpses thrown into the ocean as an offering to the Ma'Lo weeks later.

Standard Racial traits

Ability Score Racial Traits: Pho combine robustness with cunning, but have little respect for grace. They receive +2 to Dexterith and Constitution, but -2 to Charisma.

Size: Pho Ra'Tet are Medium creatures and thus receive no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Type: Pho are Medium Humanoids (Human, Pho).

Base Speed: Pho Ra'Tet have a base speed of Speed 30ft, and a swim speed of 30ft.

Languages: Pho Ra'Tet begin play speaking Ali'ni'lo'poa. Azumites with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Purana, Tosaag, or Tai Yang. See the Linguistics skill page for more information about these languages.

Defense Racial Traits

Fearless: +2 saves vs fear

Ocean Born: Pho can hold their breath for four times their Constitution score in rounds. They also receive a +8 on all swim checks and have a swim speed of 30ft.

Stubborn: +2 to Will saves vs charm and compulsion effects. Pho can re-roll a failed check 1 round after the first failed attempt.

Offense Racial Traits

Poison Use: Sources of poison are in no short supply in the Midnight Isles. Pho never risk poisoning themselves when using a poisoned weapon.

Senses Racial Traits

See In Darkness: The Pho can see perfectly in total blackness, including the effects of a deeper darkness spell.

Light Blindness: A Pho that is exposed to a bright light source (daylight spell or equivalent) is blinded for one round, and Dazzled for any rounds after for as long as they are exposed to the light source. Even if they leave the area of effect, they are Dazzled for the next 5 subsequent rounds as their eyes readjust.